AI in Images and Video: How can it benefit e-commerce?

With the growing popularity of image-based social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, there has been a significant rise in UGC (user-generated content) on the internet. Users upload photos not only of their lives but also of interactions with different products or brands they encounter online. Retailers and brands can leverage this information to engage and interact with users building brand awareness. However, with the increased use of UGC, it has become a challenge for them to track and categorize unstructured information. This challenge can be addressed using image recognition and computer vision.

Helping with Product Search

If a user while looking for a type of furniture is unable to use the right terms to describe the item in the search query, he/she could always depend on voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri or Google Home. However, the voice command is really just fulfilling a text query.

Instead, by taking a few pictures of the object and uploading it online using image search, the user can find what he/she is looking for. Using image-based AI, the search breaks down different elements of the image and enables the user to choose which aspects of the results are important.

For instance, there is a beautiful couch in the living room but it is missing a coffee table. The user can take a picture of the couch and upload it as a search item. The image AI picks up on the couch and detects the elements such as color palette, wooden legs, etc. It then provides results of coffee tables that can match and complement these elements. Furthermore, based on its database, the AI can also recognize elements such as the brand, price range, etc. of the couch allowing the AI understand what type of budget the user may be willing to spend on furniture items. This goes beyond the simple search that people see today.

Personalized experience on social media

Social media is empowered by AI, and brands and retailers can now detect and analyze every mention on the social media platforms using image recognition. They can also view how the brand is portrayed through the various images and videos shared on a daily basis. This further allows brands to interact with the users as well as collect and reshare their images helping the users to develop a personal connection with the brand.

Brands are also leveraging computer vision to provide a more targeted ad experience for users. For example, after browsing through an Instagram feed of a famous fashion celebrity, the user may get ads of fashion lookbooks featuring some of the pieces worn by that celebrity. These type of ads provide a subtle recognition for the user, which in turn helps brands build awareness and engagement.

AI in video content

For video content, brands and retailers can use AI to scan the video and index objects, scenes and audio sounds such as a dress from a popular brand or a painting from a famous artist or a song from a famous musician. Leveraging these elements, brands can then promote their products that can relate to these items such as bags that may match the dress in the video.

For video advertisements, brands can insert their products into a “placeholder” dynamically. Video producers can mark areas in their videos that can easily incorporate an inserted image and depending on the geography, language, and demographic segregation of the audience, AI can dynamically insert an ad into the video. This personalized approach enables a more local advertising experience for the users.

The e-commerce landscape is evolving with technological innovations changing the way people shop online. Images and videos are a largely untapped resource for retailers and brands to get insights from but with image recognition and computer vision gaining momentum, it is now possible. Giants like Amazon have also recognized its potential and have incorporated image-based search into their shopping experience. The applications for AI in images and videos are still limited but with deep learning, it is evolving and has the potential to change the shopping experience completely.